


A Sky Full of Stars

by MissBernieRose (BigRoseFan)



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Love at First Sight, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-31
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 05:57:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2056416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigRoseFan/pseuds/MissBernieRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver Queen is a changed man.  After an almost near fatal accident Oliver doesn't want to be the philandering playboy he once was.  Together with his friend Tommy his goal is to open up a chain of successful upscale night clubs.  But what happens when the club's computers crash the night Felicity is at Verdant to attend a birthday party?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is my first post on AO3, my first Arrow FanFic, and the first fanfic I have written in a VERY long time. Please feel free to leave comments and constructive criticism. I'm excited to hear what you think!

Oliver pulled up to the back entrance of Verdant on his motorcycle and took a second to say a silent prayer that Tommy was able to get the club’s computer systems up and running again. Last night, about an hour prior to closing, the entire POS system went down and no matter how hard they had tried they were unable to get it back up and running, leaving them unable to take and process orders or cash anyone out. The disaster ended up losing them over $1000 in sales for the night since they had to give away drinks for free after the crash. After having a slight melt down, Tommy had promised Oliver that he would make sure the system issues were resolved for the following night. They absolutely could not afford for the POS to be down on a Saturday night.

Oliver walked in the rear entrance of the club and headed for the first system unit behind the bar. One swipe of his finger and he knew that the system was still malfunctioning. Oliver took a deep breath to compose himself before he headed up the steps to confront Tommy. Tommy Merlyn had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. He was the brother he never had. He never once questioned his choice to partner with Tommy in opening up the club, but there were times that Tommy pushed him into a near maddening level of frustration. He knew he should have called their POS distributor himself. Tommy did not do well with the “little glitches” in their industry. However, what he lacked in administration and management he made up for in enthusiasm and popular connections. Tommy knew all the right people, all the right DJs, and all the right ways to throw a party. He brought in famous mixologists known for their specialty drinks. He knew the right celebrities and personalities to bring in for guest bartending. The bands he brought in could pack a house tight and if there was one thing that Tommy knew how to do it was promote. From the moment the club doors had opened they were packed to capacity every night. Everyone wanted to dance at the club owned by the famous millionaire playboys Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn. They were already in talks about opening a second location in Coast City. They had a property picked out and where going to start negotiations to purchase it by the end of the month. Unfortunately, right now, Oliver could only be concerned about keeping the doors open at Verdant. He knew he was going to have to resolve the POS issue himself.

He walked into the office he shared with Tommy and was instantly greeted with a boisterous hello.

With a bright smile Tommy jumped out of his desk chair, “hey, buddy, morning! Can I get you a cup of coffee, cappuccino, chai tea? Anything! Just name it!”

Oliver sighed because it was almost impossible to stay angry at Tommy. “Let’s not do this dance right now, Tommy. You know the one where you don’t do something that I asked you to do; so you try to make it all better by catering to me like a damn personal assistant. I don’t even want to know why the system isn’t fixed. Just tell me when it will be up and running.”

Tommy’s silence was deafening.

“When,” Oliver asked through clenched teeth.

“Yeah, they can’t get anyone here to take a look at it until Monday,” Tommy admitted sheepishly.

“Monday,” Oliver roared! “We are supposed to open in five hours! How are we going to take orders? How will we complete the transactions so our patrons can pay for those orders? We lost a little over $1000 last night, Tommy!”

“Ollie, buddy, calm down, you’re gonna give yourself gray hair! There’s nothing to worry about! I have a plan.”

Oliver covered his face with both hands and muttered, “Oh, God, I’m afraid to even ask.” He dropped his hands back onto his lap and looked over at his friend who was pulling giant cardboard boxes out of the closet.

With a goofy smile Tommy walked over to Oliver and dropped the contents of the box onto his desk.

Oliver stared down and the pads of “Guest Check” order slips, pens, and hand held calculators and ball of dread formed in his stomach. “Yeah, Tommy, this is your best idea ever!” Oliver knew Tommy heard the sarcasm in his voice but just chose to ignore it.

*****

“Felicity, let’s go! The club is going to be closed before we even get there,” Sara boomed from Felicity’s living room.

Felicity had met Sara Lance at the local coffee shop she liked to stop at in the mornings before she headed to work at Queen Consolidated. They were there every day at the same time and got to be friendly after their orders were consistently confused with each other’s once or twice a week. Finally, after months of hanging out, grabbing dinner, or catching a few drinks at the local dive bar Sara convinced Felicity to come out to the famous Club Verdant that was co-owned by Sara’s soon to be brother-in-law and his best friend. Felicity really had no desire to meet Tommy Merlyn or Oliver Queen but it was Sara’s sister’s birthday and Laurel wanted to celebrate at Verdant with all of her friends. Felicity had met Laurel a few times and genuinely liked the young attorney and was honored to be invited to her birthday bash. It had taken a lot of convincing on Sara’s part and a promise to buy Felicity the Game of Throne’s newest boxed set when it was released, before Felicity eventually agreed to go to the party at the club. It wasn’t that Felicity didn’t like to go out and have fun; because she did. She went out frequently to dinner and movies with friends. Her and Sara started shopping all the local thrift and antique stores and would find fun ways to upcycle all their silly purchases. And her favorite of all, was when her and all her friends would get together have a big pot luck supper, drink lots of wine, and play silly board games until they were laughing so hard they couldn’t even continue. Those were the things that made Felicity happiest.

Felicity just didn’t like hanging out with stuck up billionaire playboys that made a career of running through a different women every night. Although from what she had gathered from Sara, Tommy and Oliver had grown out of their philandering ways. Apparently, once Tommy realized he was in love with Laurel, he never looked at another girl again. He liked to joke that he was a lady’s man but Sara said that was all show. He was extremely loyal and dedicated to Laurel. 

Oliver Queen was still a mystery though. Sara had never gone into specifics but from conversations she had with her friend and things she had heard on the local news Oliver had turned over a new lease on life after a bad motorcycle accident that had almost left him paralyzed. It wasn’t something that the group of friends talked about a lot but it was an experience that had changed their friend’s life forever.

Felicity was putting on the finishing touches of her make-up when Sara started banging on the bathroom door. “I swear to God, Smoak, if you don’t get out of that bathroom in 30 seconds I am deleting everything in your DVR! And, I mean, EVERYTHING!”

Felicity opened the bathroom door with a smirk and rolled her eyes. “Please, Sara, that DVR is password protected. I don’t take any chances with my TV shows.”

Sara huffed out a laugh. “You’re so adorkable, Felicity!” 

Self-consciously Felicity did a little spin. “So, what do you think? Do I look ok?” Felicity wore a tight black mini dress with one shoulder and a turquoise color block design that wrapped around the waist of the dress. She paired the dress with black stilettos and delicate turquoise jewelry at her throat and ears.

Sara whistled. “You look completely amazing, Felicity! Super hot! You’re totally going to find yourself a man tonight!”

Felicity laughed grabbed her purse and ushered Sara into the hall as she locked her apartment door. “Yes, I’m sure a beautiful billionaire is going to take one look at me and fall head over heels in love!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments, kudos, and bookmarks! They mean so, so, so much!
> 
> Not sure if I mentioned in the first chapter but this story is completely AU. Obviously, Tommy is alive and both of his parents will be alive as well. The Queen's will definitely be a closer and happier family in this story.
> 
> Anyway, here's chapter 2! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chapter 2:

 

An hour into the night and chaos was already starting to erupt in the club. The club’s head of security, John Diggle, had called in extra staff for the evening anticipating problems because of the faulty computer system. Luckily, Oliver’s connection at the Starling City Bank hooked him up with a pair of ATM machines that they now had stationed at the back of the club. Not being able to use their Black Label Amex cards was definitely turning into an issue for Starling City’s one percenters. A few were even annoyed that they had to pay cash for their drinks at all. John tried his best to diffuse all potential problems and politely offered any offended quest a credit if they wanted to come back to the club on another night. Offering disgruntled patrons a two hour Happy Hour Plan for a future date was Oliver’s idea and it had gone over well. Not only did most of the people decide to stay at the club, for the rest of the evening, without complaints, after receiving the Happy Hour credit it also ensured that they would be back again, with more guests in tow, to spend more money.

 

Diggle went up to the office to put the list of guests receiving Happy Hours on his bosses’ desk and found Oliver hunched over his computer. His suit jacket was thrown haphazardly over the back of his chair, several coffee cups littered the desk, and Oliver looked positively frustrated.

 

Diggle sighed, “Oliver, everything is fine downstairs. The Happy Hour Gift Certificates were a great idea and everyone is happy. Go enjoy yourself. Laurel’s party started 45 minutes ago.”

 

Oliver bolted out of his desk chair and checked his watch. _Shit_. He had totally lost track of time obsessing over the computer system.

 

“Thanks, Digg, you’re a life saver. Laurel would have had my ass if I was any later.”

 

“Anytime, man!” Diggle smiled and patted his friend’s back. “You really need to relax a little, Oliver. Forget about all the club issues and just go downstairs and have fun with your friends.”

 

Internally, Oliver grimaced but nodded his head at Dig and started to make his way down to the private room where Laurel’s party was being held. “John, I told you that you didn’t need to work tonight. You were invited to Laurel’s party too. She specifically called me about 10 times to make sure that you were not on the schedule so that you could come and enjoy yourself.”

 

Diggle laughed, “Why are you so scared of that little girl, Oliver? She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

 

Oliver looked at Diggle with a raised eyebrow. “You’re underestimating her, John. Believe me, once you’ve been around long enough she will stop being polite and will make sure you fall in line with the rest of us!”

 

“She does seem to like to boss you and Tommy around.”

 

Oliver stopped out front of the room where the party was and leveled John with a look. “You have no idea!”

 

Digg laughed. “Tell Laurel I just want to check on a few of our security points and I’ll be in shortly.”

 

Before Oliver entered the room he yelled to his friend, “I would run, Digg! Run very, very fast!”

 

 

&&&

 

 

After Sara and Felicity left Sara’s SUV with the valet service they walked to the front of the line to the VIP Entrance and were met with a wall of pissed off people.

 

“Is it always like this?” Felicity asked sounding a little frightened.

 

Sara shook her head. “No, never. I have no idea what’s going on.”

 

Just then Sara saw a familiar dark head moving his way through the crowd. She threw her hand up in the air and started shouting for John. John heard his name and turned in the girl’s direction when he saw the familiar blonde. His face broke out in a smile and he pushed himself through the crowd to get to the girls.

 

Felicity stuttered in disbelief. “Holy shit, Sara! That’s Digg? That’s the Digg you’ve been telling me about? The Digg who knocks on your door late at night and does naughty things to you?”

 

Sara gave her a satisfied smile and nodded.

 

Felicity smacked her playfully to the arm. “Lucky bitch!”

 

John finally made his way through the crowd, wrapped his beautifully muscled arms around Sara’s waist, hauled her up to eye level, and then captured her lips in a smoldering kiss. When they finally broke apart Felicity heard him whisper, “hey, baby!” Sara wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered something in his ear that Felicity didn’t catch. John groaned at whatever she said and finally put her down. Sara grabbed Felicity’s arm and pulled her forward to introduce her to John. John politely said hello and then put his arms around both the girls and pushed his way through the crowd.

 

The girls were firmly clasped into John’s body and they had to each wrap their arms around his waist to keep from falling. John squeezed them both tight and broke out into a mile. “I love my job! Got a beautiful lady under each arm!”

 

Sara laughed and pinched his stomach. John leaned down and kissed the top of her head and Felicity decided that they were probably the cutest couple she had ever seen. She couldn’t wait to get more information about their relationship from Sara.

 

They finally made it through the crowd and the girls separated themselves from their giant escort. They both had to smooth down their clothing and hair that was ruffled during the push through the crowd. “What the hell is going on?” Sara asked John. John sighed and gave her an answer but Felicity was positioned right in front of a speaker and couldn’t really make out what he had said. She thought she heard the words “douchebag” and “credit card” but she wasn’t completely sure what that meant.

 

John pointed the girls in the direction of the private room where the party was being held and told Sara that he’d be back once he had the situation at the front door under control. John took a few steps and turned back around and grabbed Sara’s arm. “Oh, and Sara, whatever you do; do not tell Oliver about the situation at the front door.” He gave her arm one last squeeze and then walked away.

 

 

&&&

“Oliver Queen, I demand that you get that pensive expression off your face and have a good time. This is my birthday party and I want everyone to be as happy as I am,” Laurel Lance decreed as she forced Oliver to take a glass of champagne. “One glass is not going to kill you, Oliver. I have absolutely no idea how you became so boring.”

 

“Well, breaking your back and living at a rehab facility for 6 months will do that to you,” Oliver answered acerbically.

 

Laurel had the decency to look apologetic and she placed her hand on his arm, “Ollie, that was not meant as an insult and you know it. I’m so proud of the man you’ve become and the things you’ve done with your life since the accident. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to have fun at your best friend’s birthday party.” She slid closer to him and wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulder. “Come on, have a glass of champagne, eat some of this ridiculously expensive food that Tommy paid for, dance with a girl, have a little light-hearted conversation. Just relax and enjoy. I promise you won’t regret it!” Laurel placed a light kiss on his cheek and moved to the other side of the room to greet her sister who just walked in the door.

 

Oliver took a small sip of the champagne Laurel handed him and grimaced. He stopped a waiter that was walking by and handed him the glass. “Bring me a glass of Scotch, please.” If he was going to be stuck at the party he was going to at least indulge in one good drink to relax a little. Maybe Laurel and Tommy were right. Was he working too hard? Taking himself too seriously? After his accident he had made a promise to himself that he would stop being an irresponsible trust fund baby that cared about nothing but having a good time and his own satisfaction. He wanted to make his parents proud of him and that meant standing on his own two feet and carving his own path in life. He had stopped drinking in excess and instituted a self-imposed ban on woman. He needed to learn to respect himself and others in order to be a better person. But maybe there was a happy medium. Maybe it didn’t have to be all work and no play. Maybe it could be mostly work and a little play. He had good friends that respected his decisions and loved him unconditionally. It was possible that it was time for him to appreciate them a little more and let himself enjoy the time they spent together.

 

Oliver accepted his drink from the waiter just as Tommy walked up next to him and slung an arm over his shoulder. “What’s this? Is that drink in your hand or are my eyes deceiving me?”

 

Oliver smirked. “You’re a funny guy, Tommy!” Then he smiled at his friend and shrugged. “Decided that I was going to stop worrying and relax with a drink. I think I can handle one every once in a while.”

 

Just then Tommy looked over as Laurel was saying hello to her sister who had just walked in with an unfamiliar blonde bombshell. “Well, hello there, new-girl Barbie!”

 

Oliver looked over Tommy’s shoulder to see what had caught his attention. “Who’s the girl with Sara?”

 

“I don’t know. Shall we go over and introduce ourselves?” Tommy gave a waggle of his eyebrows and walked away.

 

Oliver sighed but followed his friend. “Are you ever going to stop pretending that you’re some single guy on the prowl, Tommy? We both know that you’re head over heels in love with Laurel and would never even think of being with another woman.”

 

Tommy just shrugged and laughed. “Eh, it’s fun and it annoys Laurel, so it’s really a win-win for me.” Tommy and Oliver walked over and Sara wrapped them both in a quick hug. “Guys, this is my friend Felicity Smoak. Felicity, this is Laurel’s fiancé, Tommy Merlyn and our very good friend, Oliver Queen.”

 

Tommy placed a gentle kiss on Felicity’s hand and executed a silly little bow. “It’s an honor to meet you Felicity! Any friend of Sara’s is a friend of ours.”

 

Oliver shoved his friend aside and took Felicity’s hand in a gentle shake, “Hi! I’m Oliver Queen. It’s nice to meet you.” Then he gave her hand a small squeeze, and stage whispered, “We’re not all as strange as, Tommy. I promise.”

 

Felicity smiled at Oliver. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I, uh, recognized you from you’re picture on your father’s desk at QC.” Oliver raised an eyebrow, slightly confused and Felicity realized her last statement was stated in an awkward manner that could be taken wrong. “I mean, because I work there! At QC! I’m in the IT department and I fix computers. I’ve fixed your father’s computer many times.” She froze, “And by computer, I actually mean computer, not like some kind of code for something inappropriate.” UGH! "Not that I think your father is inappropriate, at all! He’s always been very kind to me…in a completely platonic employee/boss kind of way! And, I’m stopping now!”

 

Sara stepped in to rescue her friend. “Felicity has an issue with rambling inappropriately at times. Once you get to know her it’s really quite endearing.” Sara gave her a one armed hug and smiled. “She’s a genius and I think there’s just so much stuff stored in that brilliant brain of hers that strange things start slipping out at awkward times.” Felicity was blushing profusely and Sara noticed her distress. “And she’s a little nervous about meeting everyone tonight.”

 

Oliver smiled at Felicity. Her embarrassment was sweet and he felt an odd instinct to make her feel better. He didn’t even know this girl but for some reason he just knew she was special! “Can I get you something to drink?” He asked hoping to get Felicity to relax.

 

“Ah, yes, thank you! A red wine would be great.”

 

Oliver called the waiter over again and ordered a red wine for Felicity and a gin and tonic for Sara. He was just about to ask the ladies if they wanted to get something to eat when Tommy spoke up. Oliver determined, right then and there, that his friend was well on his way to being more than a little drunk.

 

“Wow, Oliver! I almost don’t recognize you tonight! First, you meet up with your old friend, Scotch on the Rocks, and now you’re buying a lady a drink. It’s like the Oliver from the old days!” Tommy raised his glass to Oliver in a mock salute and finished his glass.

 

Laurel gave a nervous laugh and started to steer Tommy in the direction of the buffet. “I think it’s time Tommy got something to eat. We’ll catch up with you guys in a little bit.”

 

John chose that moment to walk in and he threw his arms around Sara and picked her up again. “I’m starving, too! Let’s go eat, baby!” Sara laughed and locked her arms around his neck, “But, John, we’re in public and you’re boss is right over there!” Sara threw Oliver and Felicity an exaggerated wink as John whisked her away to the buffet table to join Tommy and Laurel.

 

Felicity suddenly realized that she was very alone with Oliver Queen and she made a mental note to think very hard about what she was saying before she spoke anymore. She’d already embarrassed herself once. She didn’t think she could handle that level of mortification again. “Uh, so, Sara and John, they seem happy.” Oliver nodded. “Does he always carry her around like that? It’s the second time he’s done it tonight and we’ve only been here about 45 minutes. I mean the first time was because the crowd at the front door was ridiculous and he was just trying to say hello…” Felicity trailed off when she saw the panicked look on his face. “Umm, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to mention that to you.”

 

“Come with me.” Oliver took Felicity by the wrist and headed across the room were John was loading up a plate with food. By sheer luck Felicity was able to keep up with Oliver’s long strides. She was almost sure if she tripped he would not have noticed and she would have been pulled across the floor behind him. He looked very upset and it was all because of her and her stupid mouth. Oliver stopped suddenly and Felicity ran right into the back of him unable to stop her forward momentum because of her spectacularly high heels. Oliver instinctively reached back and steadied her with an arm around her waist.

 

“What was wrong at the front door?” Oliver practically barked at John while Felicity mouthed a silent apology over Oliver’s shoulder.

 

John gave Felicity a small nod that she shouldn’t worry about it and turned to Oliver. “It’s covered, Oliver. One asshole was pissed because he couldn’t use his gold card at the front door. I moved him over to the VIP entrance so we wouldn’t hold up the line and all of his idiot buddies thought that meant they were getting special treatment and moved over with him. They all crowded in front of the door demanding to be let in and that’s when the girls showed up. I gave the guy the Happy Hour like you suggested, escorted him to the ATM machine and all is well!” John patted Oliver on the back. “Relax, man, I got this covered. And by Monday, the computer system will be fixed and everything will be fine.”

 

Felicity was enjoying the arm that Oliver still had wrapped around her waist pulling her into his side as he spoke with John. His cologne was intoxicating and she was sure she had never smelled anything better. From the way she was standing she had a perfect view of Oliver’s chiseled profile and once she almost had to check herself to see if she was drooling. He was a beautiful billionaire, indeed! Felicity perked up when she heard John mention the computer problems and turned her attention back to the small group. “What’s wrong with your computers?” She said getting Oliver’s attention.

 

Oliver scrubbed a hand over his face and was taken back when he realized how close he was holding Felicity to his body. His mind stopped for a moment when he realized how nice it felt having her pulled tight against his side. Her hand traveled to his chest as she spoke to him and he had to force his brain and mouth into action. “Ah, our POS system went down last night and the company we bought it from can’t get anyone here to fix it until Monday. Until then we’re only taking cash and hoping our waitresses and bartenders can total up a hand written receipt the old fashioned way.”

 

Felicity glanced at Sara who was definitely trying to tell Felicity not to speak up by the look on her face but Felicity ignored her. “Want me to take a look at your computers? I, mean, I don’t have any experience with a POS system but a computer is a computer. And, I still haven’t met a computer I couldn’t fix.”

 

“Really?” Oliver asked in surprise. “You would do that for me?”

 

Felicity smiled. “Of course, I bet I can get you up in no time!”

 

John sputtered into his drink and Sara let out a howl of laughter. Felicity cringed but Oliver just hugged her closer and whispered in her ear. “I think I would like that, very much, Ms. Smoak.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so the Sara/John thing completely wrote itself and caught me by surprise. One minute I was writing about Sara and Felicity trying to get through the front door and then by the next sentence John and Sara were kissing! I can't even tell you how it happened...but I'm going with it! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't do "tech speak" so whatever I write about is completely made up and will probably be used to benefit the story, if in any way possible! ;)
> 
> Also, I don't have a beta so all mistakes are mine. I usually catch the stupid ones AFTER I've posted and then have to go back and fix them. :/

Chapter 3:

 

Oliver led Felicity up to the room above the dance floor that he and Tommy used as an office. One wall of the room was a large floor to ceiling window that allowed them to see into and watch over the club without having to always be immersed in the loud and sometimes very drunk crowd. They had furnished the office area of the room with large industrial steel desks with glass tops and over-stuffed black desk chairs. On the other side of the room a comfortable black sofa and a sleek glass and metal coffee table sat in front of the large glass window. The other walls in the office held large bold pieces of artwork that gave the room brilliant pops of color. It held a very masculine and rich feel; perfectly complimenting the owners of the club.

 

When Oliver walked into the office he immediately cringed. It was a mess. He took a peek over his shoulder to see if Felicity looked offended by the mess but she seemed unaffected. 

 

“Ummm…sorry, about the mess,” he provided. “Tommy and I both try to keep up with it but he’s been buys planning Laurel’s party and I’ve been too stressed out about the club to do anything about it.” He led Felicity over to the chair at his desk and pulled it out for her to sit. He picked up the trashcan next to his desk and with one wipe of his arm discarded all the old Styrofoam coffee cops that littered his desk top.”

 

Felicity gave him an amused smile. “So, if you just log me into your computer I should be able to take a look and see what I can do.” Oliver leaned across the desk, one arm brushing against Felicity’s forearm, and tapped out his log on and password on the keyboard. Felicity was again caught in the scent of Oliver’s cologne and had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep from letting out a breathy little moan of satisfaction. God, the man smelled delicious! When Oliver finished logging in and turned the keyboard towards Felicity it took her a second to return from her cologne-induced fog. She shifted in the chair and smiled awkwardly at Oliver, hoping he didn’t realize she was practically sniffing him like a blood hound on the hunt. “Ok, let’s see what we have here.”

 

Oliver watched as Felicity’s fingers floated across his keyboard. Her focus was completely on the screen in front of her and he used that advantage to catalog her beautiful features. The first thing he had noticed about Felicity was the absolute brilliance of her eyes. They were a sparkling blue that had captivated him from the moment Sara introduced them. She had a beautiful heart-shaped mouth, and it was painted an alluring shade of bright red. She was, currently, worrying one of those lips between her teeth as she worked. Instinctively, he wanted to reach out and smooth that bottom lip out with his thumb but stopped himself from the highly inappropriate act.

 

Oliver was simply amazed at his reaction to Felicity. After his accident, all women had lost their appeal. He saw them and admired them but never felt the need to get involved. Once he and Tommy started the club his desire for women completely waned, probably because the type of women that frequented the high-class night club had only one thing on their mind; landing a rich man! Oliver had lived in that scene for too long and was no longer interested. But, Felicity, seemed to be the complete opposite of any other woman in the club. She was completely unassuming and seemed oblivious to her beauty. Her dress was the perfect melding of seductive and classy, her make-up was demure, and it seemed her only concession to opulent fashion was her black stiletto high heels. He noticed that those heels did amazing thinks to her long sexy legs and thought if she knew the effect they had on him, hell any man, she would never wear them again. She didn’t seem like the type to want to attract that type of attention.

 

A small sigh brought his attention back to the task at hand and for some reason he did not like the look on Felicity’s face at all. “What’s wrong? How bad is it?”

 

Felicity seemed to take her time deciding on how to answer that question and decided that she would go with the good news first; because she just couldn’t stand the panic marring such handsome features. She turned her chair a little to face Oliver, took a deep breath, and began, “Well, the good news is that…,” she trailed off and moved quick hands across the keyboard and punctuated the end of her typing with a hard tap on the ENTER key, “you are officially back in business.” She flashed him a brilliant smile and started to say something else but Oliver cut her off.

 

“Are you kidding me? Felicity, you’re amazing!” Then he stopped. “Wait, good news? When people say that it usually means there’s bad news to follow.”

 

Felicity nodded. “Without getting into too much detail, and without using too many technical terms that you probably won’t understand, because if you did understand them you probably would have been able to fix this yourself and never would have needed my assistance…” Oliver cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow to cut off her ramble. “Right, sorry….basically, your program is shit!”

 

Oliver blanched, “come again?” 

 

Felicity tried to give Oliver a reassuring smile because she could tell that he was not going to take this news well and turned back to the screen to pull up some information she thought he’d need to see. “I’m really sorry, Oliver, but this system is archaic…and about to go out of business.” Felicity gave Oliver a sympathetic look and continued. “The company that provides service to your POS is called RestCo and they’re owned by a larger corporation named Versa Technology.” Felicity pulled up an article on the computer but Oliver didn’t need to read it.

 

“And Versa Technology is about to declare bankruptcy,” he supplied. “My father had the news on this morning at breakfast. They talked about it during one of their business segments.”

 

Felicity nodded, “Yes, I’m sorry.” However, she hurried to add, “But that doesn’t mean they’ll technically close down all operations. There’s a small possibility that your service won’t be interrupted at all.” Felicity tried to sound encouraging but from what she saw when she rebooted the system she was pretty sure the possibility of maintaining service was going to be very slim.

 

Oliver could tell by the look on her face that she really didn’t believe that they would be able to continue using their current system. “Ok, so, you’re the expert here. What do you suggest?”

 

Felicity nibbled on her thumb nail as she processed all of Oliver’s options. “Honestly, the issue that caused your system to crash was a simple maintenance issue. If RestCo was fully operational this would have never happened. Someone should have caught this issue which tells me they’re probably operating with a skeleton staff.”

 

“How much time do you think we have until it goes down completely?”

 

Felicity reviewed the article online and considered what she saw when she hacked into RestCo’s server. She eyed Oliver nervously, “A month, maybe two? You should probably start shopping around for new vendors, immediately!”

 

Oliver dropped into the chair next to his desk and let his head fall into the back cushion. “This is going to be a disaster.”

 

Felicity was perplexed for a minute. Did Oliver really not know the resources that were available to him? “You know, you could always design your own system and run it in-house. You could tap into one of the servers at Queen Consolidated! Those babies never crash.”

 

Oliver was completely confused. “I have no idea how to go about doing something like that.”

 

Laughing Felicity reached out and patted Oliver’s knee. “Oh, Oliver, you are going to be so happy I walked into your club tonight.”

 

Oliver smiled and reached down to run one long finger over the top of her hand that was resting on his knee, “And why is that, Ms. Smoak?” He just couldn’t resist touching her soft skin.

 

Felicity lost all focus as Oliver’s fingered trailed over her hand leaving a burning trail in its wake. “Umm…well…you know…you just have to hire someone, you know, like an independent consultant, to design a program that fits your needs.” ‘Oh God, stop stuttering! Act like you’ve been around men before! “And then, we can just link you into the QC servers through a wireless signal.”

 

Felicity stopped talking when Oliver circled her wrist with his thumb and finger and gently turned over her hand, and then he ran the same finger over the palm of her hand. He looked up at her through hooded lashes and asked, “Could you design something like that?” Oliver had no idea why he was flirting with Felicity but he just couldn’t stop himself. He had to touch her. He hadn’t done anything like this in a very long time but it was almost impossible to keep his hands off of her.

 

Felicity’s mind completely stopped working. As soon as she felt Oliver’s slightly calloused finger glide across the palm of her hand all brain functions had ceased. She could only focus on the spot of her hand where, Oliver’s finger lay resting. 

 

Suddenly, a new song started in the club below, the bass pounding, shaking the large window in the office and Felicity jumped, the noise suddenly springing her into action. She rolled the desk chair away from Oliver and quickly focused on shutting down the browsers she had opened on Oliver’s computer. 

 

This was happening way too fast for her. They had just met and the attraction between them practically sparked with electricity. Normally, Felicity wouldn’t fight something, that in all honesty felt so good, but she didn’t want her and Oliver to play games with each other. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that they could end up in bed together tonight; but where would it lead? She could not, would not, have a one night stand with him. She didn’t actually have a problem with one night stands but they were mean to be just that…one night! There were too many connections between her and Oliver and after tonight their paths would surely cross again. And, things like that? Things like that just ended up awkward and uncomfortable for everyone involved. Her emotions were warring inside her with uncertainty!

 

Oliver tipped his head to the side and looked at Felicity. “What’s wrong?” He was surprised when she backed away from his touch. He thought the physical attraction between them was mutual. Hell, he knew it was mutual and he couldn’t understand why she jumped back like she had been electrocuted when he touched her. Slowly, he got up from the chair and leaned against his desk. He nudged her leg with his but Felicity refused to look up at him. Reaching out, he placed one finger under her chin and turned her face up to his, “hey, are you okay?”

 

Just then the door to the office swung open and a slightly less inebriated Tommy burst through the door, and if the bottle of water in his hand was any indication, Laurel had ended Tommy’s alcohol consumption for the rest of the evening. “Oliver,” he exclaimed! “The POS system is working. Roy practically broke down in tears he was so happy!”

 

Before turning around to acknowledge Tommy Oliver murmured to Felicity, “Roy is our head bartender.”

 

“Ah,” Felicity whispered back in understanding.

 

Oliver turned as Tommy approached, “Felicity fixed our computers. She’s apparently some crazy computer whisperer,” he said with a smile in her direction. 

 

Tommy nodded in approval. “Well done, Felicity. I know I speak for both Oliver and myself when I say that we are forever in your debt.”

 

Oliver rolled his eyes at Tommy’s dramatic words but it made Felicity laugh. “Thank you but I really haven’t solved your problem.”

 

Tommy raised an eyebrow at Oliver but he waved it off. “We’ll talk about it later, Tommy. Let’s go back down to the party. I’ve decided I’m going to enjoy myself tonight.” 

 

After his proclamation, Oliver turned back to Felicity and leveled her with the sexy wink. He wasn’t going to back away. There was something between he and Felicity and he was determined to pursue it. He hadn’t felt this good in a long time!

 

Right then and there, Felicity decided that whatever was going on between her an Oliver was out of her control and she figured she might as well enjoy the ride. She reached up and took the hand that Oliver offered and turned her body into his so that their arms were crossed behind her back. Leaning in close she said to Oliver, “Let’s go have some fun, then!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience and your kind reviews. Life got in the way and I wasn’t able to find the time to write. To apologize, I made this chapter EXTRA SPECIAL! 
> 
> All mistakes are mine and I DO NOT own Arrow or its characters.

Chapter 4

 

After Oliver and Felicity left the office, Oliver was forced to work on some issues concerning the club and Felicity was pulled onto the dance floor by Laurel and Sara. The girls had fun laughing and dancing under the flashing lights of the club and Felicity realized that she hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. She always had fun with Sara but she enjoyed Laurel’s company as well. She was happy that she had decided to come to the party tonight.

 

Sara, who was dancing in front of Felicity, gave her a quick wink and then took Laurel’s hand and spun her in a different direction. Felicity was about to follow but was stopped by two large hands that landed on her hips. She instantly recognized the cologne that Oliver had been wearing and she playfully backed up so that her back was tight against his firm chest.

 

Oliver’s grip tightened on Felicity’s hips and he pulled her tighter. Leaning down he whispered into her ear, “Sorry, there were a few things I needed to take care of.”

 

Felicity tilted her head up so she could look into his eyes. “No problem. Laurel and Sara kept me entertained.” She flashed him a beautiful smile and his grip tightened on her again.

 

“Well, I think I remember you mentioning wanting to have a good time tonight and I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help that along.” Oliver seductively whispered into her ear.

 

Felicity shivered, in a very good way, at Oliver’s words and slowly rotated her hips so that her body rubbed against his. “Well, Mr. Queen, dancing just like this would definitely improve my night!” Felicity thought she heard Oliver groan and then his arms tightened around her waist pulling her even closer into his body. His head rested next to hers, the stubble on his cheek sliding against the smooth skin of hers, and their bodies started to sway to the beat of the music.

 

Felicity lost all sense of time and all sense of the people around her. She didn’t know when one song began and when another one ended. All she knew, all she cared about, was the feeling of being wrapped in Oliver’s arms, their bodies moving together in time. From the moment she met Oliver she knew that they had chemistry but she didn’t realize how electric their connection would turn out. She felt as if she fit perfectly in his arms, resting against his chest, his hard and muscled thighs brushing the backs of her legs. His arms were wrapped around her and it felt so right and then when his fingers started rubbing soft and easy circles across her abdomen and hips she knew there would be no use denying it….she wanted Oliver Queen and if she guessed correctly she thought the feelings were mutual.

 

When Felicity, reached up to run her hand along the back of his neck, Oliver had to practically force himself to stay upright. This girl literally made him weak in the knees. Oliver couldn’t believe how quickly he became attracted to Felicity after being introduced. There was something about her that was taking him by storm. 

 

He felt her soft fingers rub against the skin of his neck and he turned his head to nuzzle her ear. It was just a gentle rub of his lips against the outer shell of her ear but Felicity gasped and pulled him in closer with a gentle tug on the back of his neck.

 

Oliver took Felicity’s urging as a sign and he quickly spun her in his arms. When his lips found hers it started out as a gentle brushing of lips and tender kisses. Then Felicity was grabbing the lapels of his jacket and pulling him in closer. Her mouth opened and he took that as an invitation to slide his tongue against hers. He thought he heard Felicity whimper and he pulled her in closer, his hands grasping at the material of the back of her dress. He wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted as time ceased to exist for him. He could only focus on Felicity and her soft mouth. On the sexy little sounds that left her mouth when he changed the direction of their kiss. Or when her arms tightened around his neck as he ran a hand up her back, over the slim line of her neck, and threaded his fingers through her long blonde hair.

 

Felicity was drowning. She was sure it. Drowning in a fog that was a creation of the one and only Oliver Queen. His scent surrounded her and his large hands roamed her body leaving her hot and wanting more. His mouth set her on fire and she couldn’t get enough of his kiss. No one, in her entire life, had ever kissed her like this. No one had literally set her body on fire with just the warmth of their palm. Felicity was in trouble and she knew it. She had just met Oliver. She barely knew him and she was already falling dangerously fast for this man. However, her body didn’t want to listen to her mind and her mind gave up easily as sensation after sensation washed over her.

 

Someone bumped into Oliver and Felicity as they wantonly made out on the dance floor. The patron didn’t seem to notice, murmured an apology and moved on but it was enough to bring Felicity back to her senses. She gently let go of the lapels of Oliver’s jacket and gently pushed against his chest so she could see his face. “I, um,” she stuttered. “I need a minute.” She took deep breath to try and slow her fast beating heart and dropped her head to Oliver’s chest when he ran a soothing hand up and down her back.

 

Oliver placed a chaste kiss to the top of Felicity’s head and said, “Are you ok?” He felt her nod her head against his chest and had to bite back a grin. Her sweetness was overwhelming. After the kiss they just shared he had the feeling that she was suddenly feeling very shy and the idea warmed him. So, he just let his arms fall loosely around her with his chin resting on top of her head, and had them swaying to the music playing in the background. 

 

They stayed like that for a few minutes until the music picked up into a fast techno beat and Felicity realized how stupid they probably looked swaying in the middle of the dance floor. She picked her head up, took a deep breath, and smiled shyly and Oliver. “Sorry…I just… I needed a minute. This is all very fast. Like super fast. Not that I don’t like fast. I love it fast but I…” Felicity broke off when Oliver’s raised eyebrow and seductive grin clued her into the words that were running out of her mouth.

 

She dropped her head to Oliver’s chest and muttered, “Oh, God!”

 

Oliver took pity on her and nudged her back a little with his hands on her arms so that he could see her face. “I know what you meant, Felicity. While, that was most definitely one of the best moments in my life, this is all moving very fast. I’d like it very much if the two of us took some time to get to know each other and see where this goes.”

 

Felicity was so relieved to hear the words come out of his mouth. She liked him. She really liked him but she wanted to know so much more about him. “Thanks, Oliver. Most guys wouldn’t be so understanding.”

 

A brief feeling of regret washed over Oliver. He had been that type of guy once upon a time and it had taken an accident that had nearly killed him to wake him up to his philandering ways which is why he had put an end to the random hook ups. He was infamous for having a different girl on his arm every night. He hated that part of his life and he refused to allow Felicity to feel that he just wanted her as another notch on his bedpost.

 

“Felicity, I want you to know that I don’t do this kind of thing anymore.” He said gesturing between the two of them. “I know a lot of people still like to pin the playboy persona on me but I promise you that I am not that guy anymore.”

 

“Oliver, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insinuate…,” but Oliver cut her off with a smile and a finger gently placed on her lips.

 

“I never thought you insinuated anything.” He smiled at her and couldn’t help but sneak in another kiss. It was just a quick brush of his lips against hers to reassure her of his intentions. “I haven’t been involved with anyone in a long time. “ He laughed, somewhat sardonically, “I probably haven’t had a real relationship in my entire life. But there’s something about you Felicity…I think there’s a connection between us. I’d like to take the time and explore that connection. To get to know you and spend time with you. Again, I know we just met, but I think you’re completely amazing.”

 

Felicity was actually stunned into silence. She couldn’t believe it! Oliver Queen thought she was amazing! He, Oliver Queen, though that, she, Felicity Smoak was amazing! When she realized she couldn’t find the words to reply, she did the next best thing. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her so that she could capture his lips in another hot and lingering kiss.

 

When the kiss ended Oliver regarded her with a raised eyebrow. Felicity, having gained courage from their last kiss, reached up to wipe some lipstick from the corner of his mouth and smiled up at him. “I would love to get to know you, Oliver Queen, because I think you’re pretty amazing, too.”

 

Oliver and Felicity returned to the private room were the party was being held. They settled down on a small love seat in the back corner of the room. Oliver’s arm rested across the back of the sofa, his hands playing with the soft ends of Felicity’s hair and Felicity sat comfortable tucked into Oliver’s side with one hand resting on his leg. They sat and talked to each other enjoying the privacy. He told her about his family and she told him about growing up with a single mother in Vegas and moving away to attend college at MIT. Eventually she told him that she had applied at many different top technology firms in the US after graduating, not caring where she made her home. After many great offers and some serious decision making she had final decided on Queen Consolidated.

 

Oliver smiled at Felicity, “well, I’m sure Queen Consolidated is very lucky to have you. I think you made an excellent decision.”

 

Felicity felt herself flush. Oliver’s words definitely had some flirtatious undertones to them but she just shrugged and continued on. “Right now I’m just a lowly IT Assistant but I do get to work on some fun projects when I’m not fixing computers or reconnecting printers, which by the way,” she added, “Is your father’s biggest problem! I’ve never met anyone whose printer goes offline more than his. I don’t know how he does it!” She finished shaking her head and laughing.

 

Oliver also grinned, “Yeah, he has the same problem at home. Thea and I are always rescuing his equipment in his office from threat of destruction when he can’t get it to work.”

 

Felicity and Oliver laughed and then there was a heated moment when their eyes met. Oliver pulled her tighter to his side and Felicity laid her hand on his chest. Just as Oliver lowered his head to kiss her, the door to the private room opened. The party guests filled the room and they both heard Sara shout, “CAKE TIME!”

 

Felicity jumped up off the couch and momentarily teetered on her high heels. Oliver’s hand on her lower back steadied her before she could fall over. Sara saw Felicity’s awkward movements and walked over. “You okay?”

 

Felicity nodded her head. “Of course why wouldn’t I be ok? Really, I mean, I’m great, more than ok.” She felt Oliver tap his fingers on her back where his hand still lingered and she stopped her nervous rant.

 

Sara laughed and shook her head at Felicity but then noticed Oliver’s hand on Felicity’s back and the way Felicity turned into him slightly. Sara shot a look at both Oliver and Felicity telling them she knew something was going on and then she pulled them both over to where a large 3 tier cake was being rolled into the room. “Well, it’s cake time. You two are going to have to finish whatever it was I just walked in on later.”

 

Felicity opened her mouth to tell Sara that she hadn’t walked in on anything but Sara was gone before she could think of something to say. Then Oliver was taking her by the hand and leading her over to the group that was now loudly singing happy birthday to Laurel.

 

After cake, Laurel opened her presents and then the party started to wind down. Everyone was chatting and saying their goodbyes and Felicity and Oliver were drawn into different conversations with their friends. After the last of the guests left Oliver, John, and Tommy carried out all of Laurel’s presents out to her car. Oliver had told Tommy that he should go home with Laurel and that he would close up the club for the night.

 

When Oliver got back to the private room he found Felicity by herself picking up some wrapping paper that was still on the floor.

 

Felicity heard him come in and she turned her head to look over her shoulder at him and she smiled. “I was just cleaning up a bit. Sara went to the ladies room and John went to get her car.” She crumpled up the paper and dumped it into the can next to her.

 

Oliver walked over to her and took her hand in his. “How are you getting home?” He asked.

 

“Oh, I came with Sara but I think she’s had a little too much champagne tonight so John is going to drive us home in Sara’s car. I’m sure he has every intention of staying at her place tonight.” Felicity stated with a small smile.

 

Oliver hesitated and then spoke. “I’d offer to drive you home myself but I told Tommy to go home with Laurel and I need to stay here and make sure everything is closed up.”

 

Felicity shook her head, “Oh, don’t even worry about it. You have a business to run. I’ll be fine with Sara and John.”

 

Oliver pulled her closer so she was leaning against his chest and then he ducked his head to brush his lips against hers. Felicity’s arms wrapped around his neck and the kiss deepened. Neither of them even heard Sara come back in until she spoke.

 

“John’s here with the car!” Sara called as she walked into the room. She stopped when she saw that she was interrupting Oliver and Felicity. “Oh, wow, sorry! I’ll just wait outside for you, Felicity.”

 

Felicity looked over Oliver’s shoulder and Sara gave her two enthusiastic thumbs up as she backed out the door and Felicity laughed.

 

Sara smiled brightly as she walked out into the almost empty club to wait for her friend. She was happy her two friends were getting along so well. She often thought that Felicity and Oliver would make a cute couple since Felicity was the opposite of all the girls that Oliver used to date and she thought they would complement each other well. But Oliver was so serious about not starting any relationships. Many of their friends had tried to set him up but he always turned them down so Sara had never bothered to bring it up. But now that she knew she was right, she was glad that whatever was going to between Oliver and Felicity happened naturally. 

 

Oliver cleared his throat after Sara left and gave Felicity an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about the interrogation you’re going to get on the way home.”

 

Felicity nodded. Sara was going to be all over this. She was going to want to know every single detail. Probably twice. Felicity just shrugged, “It is what girls do. Don’t even worry about it.”

 

Oliver let go of her then and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Felicity. “I actually have a lot going to with my family tomorrow but I’d like to give you a call on Sunday if that works for you?”

 

Felicity nodded and punched her number into Oliver’s phone. When she handed it back to him he hit the call button and Felicity heard the chimes of her phone, that was in her bag on the table next to her, indicating that she had a call. “And now you have my number.” Oliver whispered almost shyly.

 

Felicity smiled and before she could say anything Oliver was kissing her again. This kiss was short and sweet but no less explosive. Once he pulled away, he grabbed Felicity’s purse and handed it to her. He took her by the hand and led her to the door. 

 

“I’ll walk you out to Sara’s car.” He told her.

 

Once they reached the car Oliver opened the back door but before Felicity could climb in he pulled her back. “I’m really glad to have met you tonight, Felicity.” Then he lifted her into the car and quickly ran his lips over her cheek.

 

“Goodnight, Oliver!” She murmured just before he closed the door. And his response was a sexy wink that had her insides melting.

 

Sara turned quickly in her seat and said, “Start talking and tell me everything!” before John could even pull away from the curb.

**Author's Note:**

> Next up: Will a certain blonde be able to solve the computer problems at Verdant? :)


End file.
